Philippines Shares Lessons Of Peace With Afghan Mission

The Philippines is to share the lessons of its peace process with the Afghanistan government in an effort to help facilitate peace talks with the Taliban and end a 14-year war in the country, officials said Wednesday.



In a statement emailed to Anadolu Agency, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said a delegation from Afghanistan is currently on a three-day visit to the Philippines to learn from the process, especially in terms of "promoting female empowerment."



The delegation is the second of such in recent months following last month's visit by an international group to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to look at ways the peace process could help Turkey's "solution process" with the Kurds.



Since 1996, the Philippines government has been engaged in discussions with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country's one time largest Moro rebel group, which culminated in a comprehensive peace deal in March 2014.



Wednesday's statement added that the Afghan delegation is composed of 16 of the 70 members of the Afghanistan High Peace Council, which was created last June 2010 and is composed of government officials, former rebel leaders, peace activists, and women.



The council was established with the aim of accelerating the process of peace and reconciliation and reintegration of elements of the Taliban and other armed military groups in Afghanistan.



"I am very happy that the Afghanistan peace council's delegates are coming here to learn from the Philippine experience about the peace process," the OPAPP "ed council secretary and head of delegation Shaila mSamimi, as saying.



"We need to learn how women's roles have been defined and recognized within the peace process in the Philippines," she related, adding that the meeting with Philippine officials will provide a good opportunity for "experience-sharing and exchange of information."



The delegation was received and briefed on the process by Presidential Adviser Teresita Quintos
Deles, OPAPP Undersecretary Maria Cleofe Gettie Sandoval, government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and government peace panel member and former Agriculture Secretary Senen Bacani.



During the meeting, the delegation indicated interest in OPAPP's experience in effective advocacy techniques aimed at promoting gender equality and women empowerment in the process, and in responding to gender-related issues and problems within negotiations.



Last May 2015, the council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with United Nations WOMEN to enhance capacity building and women's participation in the peace process, emphasizing that the role women play is significant in achieving a just and lasting peace.



Part of the MoU's activities included cross-learning experiences with countries that have a history of successful peace and reconciliation process with a gender perspective such as Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines.



Deles emphasized that the Bangsamoro peace process has gained much by learning from the experiences of other countries, and said that the Philippines is ready to give back and share its own experience with those working on their own peace talks.



"We are happy to share what we can and continue to learn from your experiences as well," she said.



The Bangsamoro initiative has received national and global acclaim for its gender-inclusive thrust.



Just this month the New York-based International Peace Institute recognized both Deles and Ferrer as ideal women peacemakers, saying that "based on their [Deles and Ferrer] experiences in helping to bring about the Comprehensive Agreement, women will likely have more contributions to make in this journey toward peace."



The report also noted that for the process, "direct participation at the negotiation table was combined with official consultations, a transition commission, and mass action."



During the meeting Sandoval recognized the crucial role of women in the process, and noted that the government continues to actively encourage women's participation in the talks.



The Philippines is recognized as being the first in the world to have a major peace agreement signed by a female chief negotiator, Ferrer, under the purview of a peace process chief who is also a woman, Deles.



Reports have claimed that Afghan government and Taliban representa­tives are finalizing preparations for a second round of landmark peace talks in July.



The talks are expected to be held in Pakistan after Islamabad hosted the first round of official, face-to-face discussions earlier this month, which were supervised by the United States and Chinese representatives. - Zamboanga